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"She surely deserves it all," Grahauely hurt in that the addle-pated, alphabet-obsessed, epicurean anarchist of an Irish a loafer and a pensioner should evenof all men's admiration," he continued smoothly "From the little I've seen of her she's quite re"
"She's h you wouldn't dream a drop of the same blood ran in our veins She's so different She's different froh she isn't exactly a girl She's thirty-eight, you know--"
"Pussy, pussy," Graha blonde looked at him in surprise and bewilderment, taken aback by the apparent irrelevance of his interruption
"Cat," he censured in mock reproof
"Oh!" she cried "I never meant it that way You will find we are very frank here Everybody knows Paula's age She tells it herself I'hteen--so, there And now, just for your meanness, how old are you?"
"As old as Dick," he replied prohed triu? --the water will be dreadfully cold"
Graha with Dick"
Her face fell with all the ingenuousness of eighteen
"Oh," she protested, "so, or water-pocketing"
"But he said sohtened joyously
"Then we'll meet at the tank Itat five"
As they parted under a long arcade, where his way led to the tower roo clothes, she stopped suddenly and called: "Oh, Mr Graham"
He turned obediently
"You really are not compelled to fall in love with Paula, you know It was justit"
"I shall be very, very careful," he said soleh there was a twinkle in his eye as he concluded
Nevertheless, as he went on to his room, he could not but admit to himself that the Paula Forrest charm, or the far fairy tentacles of it, had already reached hiht there, that he would prefer the engagement to ride to have been with her than with his old-ti hitching-rails under the ancient oaks, he looked eagerly for his hostess Only Dick was there, and the stable-h the many saddled horses that stamped in the shade promised possibilities But Dick and he rode away alone Dick pointed out her horse, an alert bay thoroughbred, stallion at that, under a small Australian saddle with steel stirrups, and double- reined and single-bitted